Successful Legal Firms Market Better than Their Competition

There is a fine line between successful attorneys and ones who are financially struggling.

The difference among the two is most likely the marketing strategies each one has adopted. This doesn’t necessarily reflect on the lawyer’s capability to be a proficient and effective attorney, but they may not be presenting themselves appropriately to the public to achieve the clientele they desire.

Let’s take a look at the several marketing methods, which will aid in growing your practice:

Networking

One of the most important aspects of marketing is to network with other professionals and get to know the community in which you practice law.

Consider offering your assistance with local issues or a family in need on a pro bono basis. By volunteering your services to help citizens in the area in which you practice, your name will become familiar, as well as your good nature in helping others.

Another benefit to networking is the ability to meet other attorneys that you may share a common interest with. They may have ideas and tips to share on what helped them build their own practice.

Small Scale Advertising

Advertising is the most helpful in gaining new clients if you start small and build slowly.

First of all, determine your budget and make sure you stay within that range. You then want to focus on advertising in places where your specific niche is desired.

Stick with the smaller publications to keep your costs down, as your client base grows, you will have more funds to put towards advertising on more costly platforms.

Even though you are focusing on local marketing, Google Adwords or Facebook Advertising can be used as a great local marketing tool.

Client Referrals

Most people know that word of mouth is the best form of advertising, an excellent way to grow your client list and build a solid reputation.

Don’t be afraid to ask your past clients to refer your services to their friends and family. People don’t think of legal representation until they need it. When they do the often turn to family and friends for recommendations.

The benefit of this method, is there are no upfront costs, just a small decrease in your original profit. You will gain another client, which can refer you as well to other possible clients in their circle.

Create A Website

One of the first things a person searching for legal advice does is go to Google and search for an attorney. If you don’t have a website that makes you look professional and trustworthy you are missing out on potential clients.

Obtaining and maintaining a website is crucial to growing your business.

Conclusion

Putting in the extra effort to gain exposure to your law firm is a must if you want to be successful. Practicing law can be a cut throat occupation and lawyers need to do all they can to let their presence and expertise be known.

If it is difficult for you to develop your local marketing plan, then consider hiring a professional who can guide you in the proper direction. Doing so will alleviate the stress of trying to do it all on your own, so you can focus on practicing law.

Why Website Loading Speed Is More Important Than Ever

The speed in which your attorney website loads is crucial in creating a positive experience for the visitor. Additionally, a website’s loading speed is also factored into your Google ranking, which is necessary when growing your audience.

If a website fails to load completely within a few seconds, the user will become frustrated, move on to the next site and will most likely never return. When designing websites for clients, my goal is to have the website load in less than 2 seconds. You also risk visitors telling others that they failed to have a good experience on your site and may recommend another alternative. A slow website will not only lose a current visitor but potential future visitors, as well, causing a decrease in conversion rates.

Some of the tips below may require some technical assistance.

Below are 6 Tips you can use to help speed up your website:

Decrease Image Size

Adding large images to your website will dramatically slow down the loading speed. Even though the picture on the page may be small, if the source picture is super large, the server will still have to call on that large image. Thus, making the website slower.

Images should be resized to properly fit the width of the web page. If you only need an image that is 300px wide don’t upload an image that is 1200px wide.They also load much faster if they are in JPEG format.

They also load much faster if they are in JPEG format.

Compressing the resized images will also help them load more quickly. One of the quickest and easiest ways to resize a large image is to use one of the many free websites that will let you resize and compress the image.

Minimize Redirects

When a web page is redirected, load times are increased and the user may become impatient and click away to another site.

Minimize Plug-Ins

Plugins are awesome and it seems everytime you need your website to do something, there is a plugin. I caution you to only install and use the plugins that are the most essntial. When a website includes too many plug ins, it could slow down and your site and also could be a threat to security. An outdated WordPress plugin is a hacker’s dream…and your nightmare.

Other issues, such as the website crashing frequently, can occur when there is an abundance of plugins running at once. Choose the most efficient and important ones and ditch the rest.

Use A Content Delivery Network to Speed up your site

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) works very well in increasing the speed of your loading time and also saves a substantial amount of bandwidth on your site.

When a CDN is in use, the files for the specific website are hosted on servers around the globe. Visitors are then able to download the content from the server that is closest to their location. This process will eliminate the bandwidth from one site and will spread it across an entire network.

Quality Website Hosting (It’s Worth Every Penny)

Do your homework when it comes to finding the right host for your website. If the price is very low, chances are the bandwidth is low too and you won’t be getting the speedy load times your site requires.

It’s worth your time to do a little research ahead of time. You don’t want to find out after the site is set up that it is unable to handle your content.

Conclusion

It is evident that your attorney site must load as quickly as possible to continue to increase your ranking, gain more visitors and hopefully new clients.

If you are familiar with developing your website from the back-end, then you are already one step ahead of the game. Often, attorneys find that after working on cases all day, there is little time to focus on tweaking their website. If this is the case, consider hiring an experienced professional to handle these tasks for you.

What You Can Do To Fix Your Firm’s Website When It Isn’t Converting

Attracting new clients through your website can be difficult, even if your website is visually pleasing and you have well-written content.

In order to achieve the most from your site, you need to grab the attention of your audience and make them want to find out more. If visitors are instantly bored with what they see or don’t find your CTA enticing (Call to Action) they will just click on to the next website, never to return.

The main goal of your firm’s website should be to have your visitors come back to your site to learn more about how your firm can help them and eventually become a client.

Let’s take a look at several ways to increase your firm’s conversion rate:

Images

According to an article on HubSpot about using visuals on a website,

Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images

…Colored visuals increase people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.

We live in an age where images mean everything. In such a fast-paced world, if a visitor doesn’t see an interesting image, they will be less likely to engage with your website. They will almost automatically click away to find another website that connects with them.

Be sure that you have great photos and infographics on your website. If you are having trouble finding great images for your website I recommend reading this previous article I wrote on how to find great images for your website. Something as simple as a colorful chart can spark interest and your visitor may stick around to see what else that can learn from your page.

Write Engaging Content

Take a good look at the content you are supplying to your visitors.

Does it pertain to common questions that your clients often ask?

Does it flow and engage the reader?

Blog posts and content should focus on the needs of your audience. Make a list of the most popular questions you are asked and create content that centers around it. The key is to always make them want to return to find out more.

Be sure to include specific keywords pertaining to each post, so new visitors will be able to find you when doing an online search.

Get a Website Review

“Too Close to the Forest to See the Trees.”

You love your website and you’ve poured money, sweat and maybe a tear, but clients aren’t using your website. Why?

Why isn’t my site converting? There are many reasons why your website could not be converting. Sometimes it helps to have a professional who isn’t so close to your website give an honest evaluation. One of the best ways to fix your website when it isn’t converting is to get a professional website review.

Your Website has No Call To Action

Email list sign ups can be encouraged with bonus content. One example of bonus content could be an eBook on a specific practice area which could be downloaded if they join your email list.

Once your visitors have joined your list, you can periodically send them links to your site to read blog articles that may interest them. Not only will they start to view your firm as an expert in the topics, but they will also be increasing the hits to your site, which in turn, will boost your ranking.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many facets to gaining the highest conversion rate for your website. Implementing the steps mentioned above will get you on the path to more potential clients and an increased number of cases.

The simple acts of adding eye-catching images, interesting content and stepping up your SEO game have been proven ways to increase conversion rates.

Integrating an eye-catching pop-up along with an enticing opt-in offer should dramatically increase your conversion rates. These opt-in offers are usually referred to as “carrots”, a piece of information a potential visitor to your site would find useful.

Consider installing one of the top WordPress plugins below to increase the traffic on your law firm website:

If you are on a tight budget, then you may want to consider the free SumoMe plugin. This is a great plugin for beginners. There is always the option to upgrade and expand in the future, as your business grows.

This plugin offers several tools that will help grow your subscriber list with a few clicks of the mouse. Easily set up your List Builder template and start collecting email addresses right away. Other options include setting the timing for the pop-up to appear during a session as well as the pages in which the pop-up will appear.

A daily analytic report is also available to give the user better insight of the traffic and conversion rates.

If you have a little extra money to invest, there are three different packages you can choose from with the Optin Monster plug in. Prices are set at $49, $99 and $199 per year, depending on the needs of your website.

Pop up templates can be customized with text, colors, etc. Timing, of when the pop-ups are displayed and the pages they are displayed on are also adjustable.

Analytics for each pop-up is provided to determine which one is collecting the most email addresses and converting the highest.

Customizing your pop up is easy to do with the Lead Pages interface. There is only one pop up that you can customize, which is very basic, but will still serve its purpose.

Lead Pages also offers the option for exit pop-ups, which will appear as your website visitor is leaving your site. This will give you one last chance to collect their email address so you can stay in contact with them in the future.

Landing pages and other options are included in the subscription prices, which vary from $25, $49 and $199 per year.

If you are searching for a particular theme for your pop up, then Ninja Popups is a good place to start. This app offers more than sixty-five various pop-up themes to choose from.

Settings can be adjusted for the timing of when the pop up appears as well as including social sharing buttons. This plugin only costs $25.

Conclusion

As you can see, adding a pop-up plugin to your WordPress site is extremely important to gain a larger client base and keep in touch with your visitors so they don’t forget you. With their ease of installation and the benefits and data that they provide, there is no reason not to incorporate this tool into your own attorney site.

If you are unsure about the ins and outs of perfecting your website and adding plugins, consider speaking to a professional who can do it for you.

Simple SEO Tips – 6 Things You Can Do To Help Your Google Ranking Increase

Increasing your Google ranking may not be as difficult as you may think. There are a number of ways you can easily boost your page up the search listings (SERPS) by putting some easy SEO hacks into action.

When looking for help with SEO you may run across underhanded SEO tactics online, which are called, “Black Hat” tactics. These tricks are not in your best interest to put into use. They may work for a short period of time, but Google is consistently tracking these techniques and eliminating the false rankings.

Obtain More Keywords From Search Data

Having your website target the right keywords is much like fishing with the correct bait or using the right golf club for a certain golf shot. Your success will be much higher and you will be attracting the right audience for your practice. (or the right fish in this case).

Now you are asking yourself, “Yeah, but how do I find these magical keywords?”

There are many ways in which you can get started finding the right keywords for your practice.

If your site is difficult to navigate and users have to scroll back and forth to read your content, they will become frustrated and you will end up losing a potential client and your bounce rate will increase.

Adding videos and flash will increase load times. Be sure to compress all images on your site and adjust them to an appropriate size for maximum loading speed.

Properly Optimize Page Titles And Descriptions

Use a variety of popular meta data tags and popular titles in your posts to attract new visitors. Search other websites in your niche and see what posts on their site are the most popular.

If you are unsure how to properly set up your Page Titles and Descriptions I suggest looking at your competitors or looking at what people have used for Google AdWords. When people use Google AdWords they are spending money to have their ad seen. They are going to make sure they have a title that is attracting potential clients.

Once you have determined the titles that draw the most attention, post your own unique content using similar terms.

Conclusion

The SEO Hacks and Tips mentioned above are just thetip of the iceberg when it comes to increasing your ranking. In addition, the scope of SEO is constantly changing and evolving. Attorneys need to keep up with the latest Google updates, in order to stay at the top of search engine results.

Finding the time to read up on the latest techniques and putting them into action can become very time-consuming. Eliminate the extra time and focus your attention on your law firm by consulting with an SEO expert. You will feel confident that your site is gaining hits and increasing your client base as well.

4 Reasons You Need To Remain Ethical When Posting On Social Media

Social media is an excellent way to promote your law firm and build a positive reputation. There are a number of platforms, such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter, which can increase exposure in addition to your own website.

For example, when posting on these sites, it may be tempting to share personal opinions, memes or political propaganda, but that can do more harm than good. What you may think is just a joke, could totally offend someone. Once that happens, they will spread the word about how much they dislike you and your reputation will become tarnished.

As an Attorney, Keep these 4 Things in Mind when posting to Social Media

You Could Accidentally Create An Attorney/Client Relationship

There is a fine line between providing general knowledge of the law and giving advice. When attorneys post on any form of social media, they need to be careful of the information they are providing to the public.

You are never to give someone detailed advice on a situation. You can provide the laws that surround the issue, but once you ask for further personal information or lay out a plan of action for them, you are then bound by an attorney/client relationship.

Avoid Embarrassment

When posting off-color comments or memes, chances are, someone you know will be offended eventually. This looks unprofessional and will end up giving you and your law firm a bad name.

Accidentally Exposing Confidential Information

The detailed information that can be accidentally exposed when using social media on a mobile device could present a problem with current cases if not managed properly. Some sites will include the location from where the post was made. These may also include photo posts, so be sure to disable that feature if at all possible.

Another concern is that once connections are made via social media, personal details become more visible to others if proper settings are not put into place. All of these issues could be detrimental to a case. The attorney needs to take great care to avoid exposing the private information of clients.

Conclusion

As an attorney, following the guidelines set up by the Bar Association and the legal regulations of your local area will keep you from risking your reputation. Never post anything on social media without looking it over and making sure it doesn’t violate any rules.

Be sure to not disclose any personal information about you or potential clients.

Being knowledgeable about what is acceptable to post on social media is of utmost importance. Be sure to stay up to date with any changes that may take place. Keeping your name clean will create a sense of trust from your followers and will help your law firm to grow.

https://www.luckyfishmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/photodune-4410618-social-media-xs.jpg364550Billhttps://www.luckyfishmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LFM-LOGO-2019.pngBill2016-06-08 07:30:052016-04-21 12:48:094 Tips for Attorneys when using Social Media and Facebook to Market their Firms

Regular posting and activity on all of the major social media platforms will ensure that you are connecting with your target audience from all angles. Keep your content interesting and current, using images and key words to draw in the readers you are looking for.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest are all useful ways to increase the number of views on your website.

Client Reviews

A marketing strategy that speaks for itself is an authentic, positive customer review. Reviews online can influence potential clients and their decision to move forward with your firm.

Consider linking any reviews that are listed online to your website. On the other hand, be sure your website links to the reviews as well. You will have all bases covered and future clients will see what you have to offer either way.

Blogs

A blog alone won’t drive much traffic to your website, but there are ways to optimize it to make it work for you. SEO strategies and regularly posted content will help drive your site up the rankings on the Google search engine.

Once your content is posted, you will have the ability to share it across the multiple social media platforms you have set up. Your exposure will increase, as well as your website visits and your Google ranking.

https://www.luckyfishmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/photodune-15289930-internet-marketing-xs.jpg346577Billhttps://www.luckyfishmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LFM-LOGO-2019.pngBill2016-05-18 07:30:452016-05-18 15:26:04Attorney Online Marketing: Get Started on the Right Foot

Latest Posts

There is a fine line between successful attorneys and ones who are financially struggling.

The difference among the two is most likely the marketing strategies each one has adopted. This doesn’t necessarily reflect on the lawyer’s capability to be a proficient and effective attorney, but they may not be presenting themselves appropriately to the public to achieve the clientele they desire.

The speed in which your attorney website loads is crucial in creating a positive experience for the visitor. Additionally, a website’s loading speed is also factored into your Google ranking, which is necessary when growing your audience.

If a website fails to load completely within a few seconds, the user will become frustrated, move on to the next site and will most likely never return. When designing websites for clients, my goal is to have the website load in less than 2 seconds. You also risk visitors telling others that they failed to have a good experience on your site and may recommend another alternative. A slow website will not only lose a current visitor but potential future visitors, as well, causing a decrease in conversion rates.